Safety in Secrets
by Serena Thorn
Summary: Noah finally realizes his partner is the only one he can trust with his secrets. Oneshot


Title: Safety in Secrets  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: Noah finally realizes his partner is the only one he can trust with his secrets.  
Spoilers: Minor 3x11  
Disclaimer: Heroes is not owned by me, but by Tim Kring. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.

* * *

Sandra didn't know exactly when she had gotten her first suspicion. Until lately she had trusted her husband. But then Noah was a man with many secrets. At first his claims of working late at a paper company didn't concern her, but then Claire had told her the truth.

Noah wasn't a paper salesman.

Then the questions came about what he really did with his days, where he really went and how he was really with during those times. Not to mention all of the above when he claimed to be working late or would be gone for days. The screaming matches weren't far behind. Noah couldn't answer any of Sandra's questions without putting them all in danger again and while he hated having to keep so many secrets, making himself out to be the bad guy once again, he knew he didn't have a choice.

"Problems with the wife still?" Elle sighed when she came into their office. It wasn't like her partner could hide it.

"Do we have to talk?" he asked, keeping his eyes adverted from her.

"No," she drawled with a tilt of her head as she eyed him. "But you tend to make me talk even when I don't want to. Especially when there's something bothering me."

"That's different, Elle. You're -"

"Unstable? One of 'them'? An experiment?"

"Because when something's bothering you people tend to be electrocuted. Your version of a bad day typically ends in a nearly state-wide black out."

She sighed. Some people were just so touchy about not having electricity for a few hours. At least she helped keep electricians in business. "Look, Bennet, how many people do you know that you can really talk to around here?"

"I'm supposed to trust you?" he half-smirked as he sat back in his chair and finally looked up at her.

"Oh, I see, you can trust me with your life on field missions and yet when it comes to what one might deem slightly lesser matters the wall is better for you to talk to." She wasn't completely mocking the situation, but she also didn't want Noah to see that for some reason the idea of that being true actually hurt her. Besides how much had she told him over the years? How much of her personal life had he known since she was a literal child?

"It's the same thing it always is," he sighed as he brought a pair of fingers to his temple to attempt to stop the throbbing that had begun once more.

Elle nodded in understanding. Maybe she wasn't nearly as experienced as he was with relationships but she did know a thing or two about having to keep secrets. Her last ex had tried to kill her when Noah had revealed more than a few of those secrets to him after all. And it was then Elle figured it out. At least part of him was likely worried she would return that "favor" with Sandra.

"Well you should know by now that your secrets are safe with me," she informed him.

"That's the problem," he finally stated. "You know my secrets and she never can."

"So your job is the other woman?"

"I don't think it helps that my partner is also a woman."

"How would she know that? Do you think Claire would tell her?"

"Well she did tell Sandra that I'm not a paper salesman all that time ago. She knows a bit of what I really do, but obviously not the gory details and from what I can tell neither exactly know about you and I being partners again. The most I think they know about you is from the few times you met and given the circumstances I doubt any of you talked about work."

Elle shook her head at the memories. Between his having shot her and him having died, those weren't days she cared to remember. "Well, even so it's not like we've done anything so if she said something about us it'd seem more like she'd be trying to destroy you in some way. So is that it? You're spacing out thanks to being subtlety accused of crimes you haven't committed?"

"And because I still can't say what I'm really doing so in the end maybe it's best that's what Sandra thinks. After all it's not as though I don't spend most of my waking hours with a young blonde she'd never stop asking me about."

"Like I said, your secrets are safe with me," she smiled as she reached forward across the desk and took his hand.

Looking at her hand on his, Noah had an idea there might be more to this than he knew. Why not test the waters a little more? "So should the day come that I once again have to be cruel to be kind, to make them believe the worst to save them, think you'd be up for it?"

"For what exactly?" she asked, hoping he was thinking what she was.

Bringing his other hand to the desk, capturing her hand between his, he asked, "Elle, should I need you to, would you pose as my extra-marital affair?"

Only pose?! She didn't know whether to jump for joy or scream in anger. Elle maintained her calm exterior of course as she looked deeply into his eyes and answered, "Yes, Bennet, I will be your pretend girlfriend." _At least until I can be your actual girlfriend and possible extra-marital affair,_ she continued mentally. It was days like this Elle was thankful he couldn't read her mind. Around him she'd be screwed and not in the way she often dreamed of being by him.

Of course he laughed, taking his hands back a moment later. He couldn't believe she had so readily agreed, but then she did love acting in certain situations when the job called for it. "Alright, let's get back to work then," he finally told her with a smile.

The End


End file.
